The mitigation of collective beam effects, in particular Coherent Synchrotron Radiation (CSR), is crucial for the development of particle accelerators with higher beam brightness. Among the strategies proposed in the literature, the use of appropriate shielding walls to curb CSR is an attractive strategy with many associated open problems. In particular, simulation methods that account for shielding effects usually employ image charges and assume free space potentials, making them only applicable for simple wall layouts. In this work, we will outline a novel simulation technique that makes use of cavity Green's functions to capture the field modes admitted by the shielding walls. In addition to better resolving the radiated fields, the proposed method will be robust to singularities that are typically encountered in the image charge approach. We will discuss the computational implications of using cavity Green's functions and discuss strategies to scale the method to complex geometries and large particle counts. The method will eventually be validated using results from a planned shielding study at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator using a dipole chamber with variable gap size.

Coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) is one critical beam collective effect in high-energy accelerators, which impedes the generation of high-brightness beams. The Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) facility is unique in the experimental investigation of CSR effects in complex beams, offering a large parameter space for the bunch charge and size, various bunch profiles (round and flat beams), and the capability of generating shaped bunches through both laser shaping and the emittance exchange approach. This presentation will outline planned experiments at AWA and their designs, including a CSR shielding study using a dipole chamber with a variable gap size, and the effect of CSR on the beam phase space in a laser-shaped short electron bunch. This work is part of a comprehensive study involving self-consistent CSR code development and experimental investigation. The experimental component aims to provide benchmarking with the advanced codes under development, explore the boundaries of 1/2/3D CSR effects on beam dynamics, evaluate CSR effects in complex beams, and eventually propose CSR mitigation strategies.